Warp tensioning device



June 24, 1941. BAHAN 2,246,657

WARP TENSIONING DEVICE Filed Sept. 19, 1940 2 Shets-Sheet 1 .234 Wmunm l-L t (IttrnegS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nm mu 7. m M w 4 7 7 A H w 3 E m 7/////// 3 I m HL Wm O 0 II- O O O O M I: 8 II, I: 8 F MD 7 MW 97 f 9 r0 Q June 24, 1941. w, BAHAN WARP TENSIONING DEVICE Filed Sept. 19, 1940' Patented June 24, 1941 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE WARP TENSIONING DEVICE William H. Bahan, Greenville, S. C. Application September 19, 1940, Serial No. 357,409 '2 Claims. (o1. 139-100) This invention relates to a warp tension device for looms and forms a continuation in part of my co-pending patent application, Serial Number 334,921, filed May 13th, 1940. The present disclosure is particularly concerned with a let-off for loom warp beams whereby substantially uniform tension can be maintained in the warp during weaving.

It is an object of this invention to provide a let-off mechanism for warp beams and the like which is adapted to employ fiowable heavy material such as shot, sand, oil, mercury, grease and the like, or any suitable viscous material as a resisting element to the movement of the warp. More specifically it is an object of this invention to providea novel apparatus for harnessing the above-named materials in such a manner that the desired resistance will b effectively offered.

Although the principle of operation is essentially the same in both forms of the present disclosure, the variation of the resisting material makes it necessary to somewhat alter the structural features. Such alterations are not believed to depart from the spirit of the invention, but merely tend to enlarge the use and adaptability of the fundamental principle involved.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a loom showing my improved warp tensioning device associated therewith;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional plan view through the let-off mechanism and taken along the line 3--3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a portion of the loom showing a slightly modified form of my improved warp tensioning device;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 'l| in Figure 6.

f Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral l denotes the side frame of a loom having one end of a warp beam. I I rotatably mounted therein. This warp beam has warp threads l4 wound thereon which material is drawn from the beam in sheet form It. This sheet of warp passes upwardly over a whip roll 16 and then horizontally, after which it passes through suitable heddles, not shown, for forming a shed during the weaving operation.

The warp beam II has integral with the end thereof, a large gear 26 and this gear meshes with a smaller gear 2| on a shaft 22. The shaft 22 extends horizontally through a bearing 23, said bearing being secured to the interior of the loom frame I0. The end of the shaft 22 is also journaled in uprights 24 and 25, which are secured together at their upper and lower ends by rods 26 and 21, respectively. The members 24 and 21 comprise a framework which is secured to the loom frame II) by any suitable means such as bolts 29 (see Figure 2).

By observing Figures 2 and 3, it is seen that the upright 25 has secured to the inner face thereof, another plate 32 which plate has a portion of one face thereof penetrating a vertical slot in an inner sidewall 33 of a casing 34. Likewise the proximate face of upright 25 penetrates a vertical slot in an outer side wall 35 of the casing 34. The inner sidewall 33 and the outer sidewall 35 ar joined together by a peripheral plate 36 thus completing the casing. This casing is mounted for vertical sliding movement between the plate 32 and the proximate face of upright 25.

Suitable vanes or paddles 49 are secured to the shaft 22 at a point within the casing. These vanes 2!! are radially disposed and are adapted to contact suitable weighted material 42, such as shot, sand, mercury, gravel, grease or the like, or any suitable viscous material when rotated to lowermost position. This Weighted material 42 is inserted into the casing M by way of a port closed by a plug M and this same material may be removed when desired by way of port 45 closed by a plug. 7

It should be noted that each of the vanes 40 has a passageway 48 on each side thereof at a' point near the shaft 22, and these passageways serve as a drain whereby the material which has been liftedby these vanes may again flow downwardly to a lower level prior to the paddle which ha raised it reaching its uppermost position. When employing shot or loose weighted material in this casing, it is desirable to have a clearance between the edges of the vanes 4e and the interior of the casing to prevent shot or a piece of loose-weighted material from becoming wedged therebetween and damaging the apparatus. Therefore, a clearance, designated by the reference character 49, is provided.

By observing Figure 1, it is seen that as the warp I 5 move upwardly, warp beam Ii will be caused to rotate in a clockwise direction, thus rotating the pinion 2|, shaft 22 and the associated vanes 40 in a counterclockwise direction. The lowermost vanes 40 will engage the retarding material 42 as they rotate and be partially laden thereby as they move. upwardly in the manner shown in Figure 4. Immediately after the vane begins to rise the material engaged thereby will gradually tend to creep to the left when the vanes obtain a substantially horizontal position, the loose weighted material will begin to drain or flow downwardly through the openings '58 which are disposed adjacent the shaft 22. These openings will prevent the weighted material from rotating completely around the axle and serving to counter-balance the shot or materials which are being lifted upwardly on the opposite side of the shaft 22.

It is evident that some means should be provided whereby the amount of resistance offered to the rotation of the vanes 46 can be varied. In most loom set-ups the weight of the warp oeam II, when full, will produce a much greater friction upon its bearings than will be the case when the warp beam becomes lighter. Therefore, in set-ups of this sort, an automatic feature is more or less unsatisfactory, because as the beam grows lighter the decrease in friction partially or wholly compensates for the reduced diameter of the warp material on the beam. I have found that in most cases, the resistance can be set at some average level and this will remain substantially the same throughout the weaving of the warp which emanates from the warp beam. This average resistance is usually more satisfactory than the variable automatic feature. In the present disclosure, I have provided a threaded bolt 52 which is secured in the shaft or rod 26. The lower end of this bolt is rotatably mounted as at 53 in the upper end of the housing 35, and the upper end of the bolt has a knurled nut 55 therein which is used for turning the bolt when it is desired to raise or lower the housing. A look nut 56 is provided to hold the housing in the desired adjusted position.

Figures 5 to 7 inclusive show a slightly modifled form of the invention in which a fluid material such as heavy oil, grease, mercury, or other viscous or heavy substances may be employed as a resisting medium. In this form of the invention the gear 20 is adapted to mesh with a smaller gear $6 on one end of a shaft 6|, said shaft being rotatably mounted in a bearing 62 which forms an integral part of an upright 63, the upright being secured to the loom frame Iii as at 64. A larger gear 65 is fixedly secured on the other end of the shaft SI and this gear meshes with a smaller gear 66 on a shaft 61.

Shaft 61. is also journaled in hubs 69 and T of a cylindrical casing H, the hub '10 being mounted in a second upright it, which upright is secured to the upright 53 by means of cross members '13 and (4. Hubs t9 and ill are adapted to penetrate slots 15 and 15, respectively in upper edges of lower casing Ti. The lower casing telescopically fits over the upper casing H previously described and is adapted to contain suitable viscous or heavy fluid such as oil or the like which offers the necessary resistance to the rotation of the warp beam.

By observing Figures 6 and 7, it will be seen that the lower portion of the housing H has an opening 19 therein. This opening permits the oil or other material 78 to rise into the upper casing 1| from the casing'll'l therebelow. Secured to the shaft '61 and within the circular casing 69 are a plurality of angle shaped vanes 80 and the extremities of these vanes are adapted to slide against the interior periphery of the casing. Each side of the vanes 80 has a circular disk 8| secured thereto, thereby forming a trough 82 from each angle-shaped vane 80, said trough being adapted to collect the fluid material 18 when in lowermost position, and carry the same upwardly in the manner shown in Figure '7, It is therefore seen that as the warp i5 is drawn upwardly from the warp beam II, that the angle vanes 80 will be rotated in a clockwise direction in Figures 5 and 7 to thereby collect fluid material into the pockets 82 and thus resist the rotation of the warp beam. These angle vanes 80 have drain openings I00 adjacent the point where they are connected to the shaft 61 to thereby allow the fluid to flow downwardly to a lower level immediately or slightly before the angle vanes rotate through an angle of degrees from lowermost position.

The fluid material is deposited within the casings H and 11 by way of a port closed by plug 83 and is removed by way of port closed by plug 84.

When it is desired to vary the amount of fluid material collected by the vanes 80 when in lowermost position, it is necessary to raise or lower the housing 11. This housing has a downwardly extending bolt 93 integral with the lower side thereof which penetrates a hole 9| in cross member 75. This cross member has a longitudinally disposed slot 96 therein which is adapted to accommodate a knurled nut 9'! which is threadedly secured around the bolt 96. By turning the nut 97, the casing 17 can be raised or lowered, thereby varying the liquid level in the casing 'H.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a warp tension apparatus for warp letoff beams in looms, and the like, comprising a casing, a rotary member, a plurality of vanes secured to said rotary member and disposed in said casing, driving connection between said rotary member and the warp beam, loose material disposed in said casing and yieldingly resisting the movement of said varies, and means for vertically adjusting the casing relative to the rotary member to thereby vary the amount of material engageable by said vanes.

2. In a warp tensioning apparatus for warp let-off beams in looms and the like, comprising a casing, a rotary member, a plurality of vanes, secured to said rotary member and disposed in said casing, driving connection between said rotary member and the warp beam, movable material in said casing adapted to be engaged by said vanes and lifted upwardly, means for permitting the lifted material to flow reverse'ly past the upwardly moving vanes whereby only the upwardly moving vanes will engage the material, and means for vertically adjusting the casing relative to the rotary member to thereby vary the amount of material engaged by said rotary member.

3. In a warp tension apparatus for warp letoff beams in looms and the like, comprising a casing, a rotary member in said casing, a pludriving connection between said rotary member and the warp beam, a fluid material in said casing yieldingly resisting the movement of said vanes, and means for vertically adjusting the said casing relative to the rotary member to thereby vary the amount of fluid material engaged by said vanes.

4. In a Warp tensioning apparatus for warp let-ofi beams in looms and the like, comprising a casing, a shaft rotatably mounted in said casing, a plurality of vanes on said shaft, driving connection between said shaft and the warp beam, a second casing communicating with said first casing, fluid material in said casings resisting the rotation of said vanes and means for vertically adjusting said casings relative to each other to thereby vary the amount of fluid material engaged by said vanes.

5. In a warp tensioning apparatus for warp let-off beams in looms and the like, comprising a casing, a shaft rotatably mounted in said casing, a plurality of vanes on said shaft, driving connection between said shaft and the warp beam, a second casing telescopically mounted over and having the interior thereof communieating with said first casing, fluid material in the casings resisting the rotation of said vanes, and means for permitting the lifted fluid to flow reversely past the upwardly moving vanes where by only the upwardly moving vanes will engage the material.

6. Means for applying tension to a let-oif beam comprising a casing, rotary means disposed in said casing, a reservoir having communication with the casing, fluid means disposed in the reservoir and said casing, and means for regulating the amount of fluid in the casing to determine the amount of resistance offered to the rotary member.

7. Means for applying tension to a let-off beam comprising a casing, rotary means disposed in said casing, a reservoir having communication with the casing, fluid means disposed in the reservoir and said casing, and means for causing a flow of the fluid between the reservoir and casing to thereby regulate the height of fluid in the casing and the resistance offered to the rotation of the rotary member.

WILLIAM H. BAHAN. 

